Can Wii Fit Really Get Me Into Shape?

Have you ever wondered if Wii Fit can really whip you into shape? Follow my results as I take a 4 week journey and get myself Wii Fit.

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An Introduction to the Review

When my mother asked me what I wanted for my birthday I wanted to be an adult and answer her with a sophisticated:“I am turning 28 and I am no longer a child.I do not wish anything but your love for my birthday.”But I didn’t.“I want Wii Fit.”The words slipped out of my mouth before I knew it.There wasn’t a chance to take it back and once it was out I didn’t want to.I wanted Wii Fit for my birthday.My mother laughed.She knew the game, liked that it got kids like me off the couch, and thought it was a worth while investment.

Along comes my birthday and my mother – surprise – had Wii Fit wrapped on her kitchen table.It was the first thing I saw when I walked in but I played the cool grown up and waited 15 minuets before I ripped open the wrapping paper.My partner, who was sitting next to me, hung his head as he asked my mother:“Will she ever grow up?”I hoped not because if still being a kid meant I got cool gifts like this then I didn’t want to grow up.

At home with the game I realize that this isn’t just a game.It’s a program designed to get me moving, get me in shape, and get me Wii Fit.I’m an online college student who loves video games so I’m on my tushy a lot so I took the hook.Okay Wii Fit, get me Wii Fit.

Here’s the plan:I’m going to follow a strict 5 day a week Wii Fit fitness plan to see if Wii can help me achieve my goal of loosing 8 pounds in 4 weeks.Although the game doesn’t have any diet guidelines, I will cut out all extra sugar for the next 4 to help me in my quest to loose 8 pounds.I hope you will join me as this review tracks my workout routine and schedule, fitness goals, and bi-weekly reports to answer the question:Can Wii Fit really get me into shape?

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Setting Up My Wii Fit Account

When setting up my Wii Fit account I used an extra “guest” Mii that I created just for this report named WENDY.I first learned about how bad posture and bad balance were the result of lifestyle habits and that daily training would help my posture.I was shown an animation that illustrated the difference between good posture and bad posture.After my lesson I was asked to enter my height and age.I am 5 foot 5 inches and I am 28 years old.

After learning the health benefits of Wii Fit I moved on to the Body Test.This was something that I was going to perform every day to monitor my results and I was eager to get acquainted with the process.The Body Test measured my Center of Balance (COB) with a test that required me to shift my weight from side to side in order to keep a red dot that represented my COB inside a yellow circle that represented my ideal COB.I was told that body supporting muscles like the abdominal muscles tend to be weak in people with bad posture.Is that why I have a belly?I thought it was because of beer and ice cream.After I was done with the COB test I was presented with my Body Mass Index, or BMI.Wii Fit had 4 BMI categories to fall under that included obese, overweight, normal, and underweight.According to Wii Fit, people with a BMI of 22 are the least likely to get sick so I was happy when I was presented with a BMI of 22.99%.

From here I had the option to view my weight and, yes, I am going to share it with you.I weighed 137.8 pounds and fell into a “normal” weight category for my height and age.While processing a slight weight gain since I was, say, 21, I preformed a Basic Balance Test to find out that I am way off balance and should be tripping when I walk.

Next it was time to find out my Wii Fit Age which was calculated using my test results and my actual age.The results were depressing.According to Nintendo, I am a 41 year old woman.That’s a difference of +13 years.No wonder I’ve been feeling so old recently.I was defiantly feeling the need to workout – and fast.My progress was marked on my own personal Wii Fit Calendar with a cute foot stamp and I was off to set some personal fitness goals.

Upon the suggestion of my Wii Fit Board, I started by setting a target goal of 22% BMI.I then entered a goal weight loss of 4 pounds in two weeks.This would help my overall goal of loosing 8 pounds in 4 weeks for a target weight of 129 pounds.This process was a little tricky because I had the option of entering my goal in both pounds and ounces and I almost set a goal weight loss of 0.4 pounds in 2 weeks.When I set this goal I got the following message:

“A good, healthy standard for loosing weight is about 3 lbs. every two weeks.Loosing weight too fast can lead to a weight rebound.Are you sure you want to make this your goal?”

At which point I was prompted to either Change or Accept this goal.I accepted the challenge.I was then asked if I wanted to protect my Wii Fit file with a password which I declined.I see the point in a password when you are sharing the game with a number of people but I am the only one in this house who is using Wii Fit.

Now it was time to start working toward a BMI of 22.26%!After being asked if I wanted to register anyone else (I didn’t) I was taken to my regular fitness calendar when I could change my User Settings, access my daily Body Test, and beginning Training.I clicked training and got the following greeting:

“Hello, WENDY!I’m glad to see you’re here!Now, let’s start training!Oh…actually, I won’t be much help with training, since you’ll be standing on me the whole time.And that’s why you need to select a trainer you want to work out with.”

I chose a female trainer and was briefed on the type of exercises I could do.I already knew that my daily workout would include Yoga to stimulate my muscles and help increase my flexibility, Strength Training to train the muscles on each side of my body, Aerobics to burn fat, and a Body Test to track my progress.

The process of registration was done and it was time to get working!Join me in part 2 of this series to learn about my workout, to view my schedule, and to see how I’m tracking my progress.